Mumbai:
Is Mumbai on the wrong track by letting private enterprise build its metro system? Yes, says Dr E Sreedharan, the man who helmed the construction of Delhi's 200-km-long metro network.
The veteran with over 57 years of experience, which includes constructing the 760-km-long Konkan Railway, was in Mumbai on Tuesday night to receive yet another laurel -- a magazine, Construction World, named the civil engineer 'Man of the year 2010'.
Sreedharan said that private participation in the Mumbai metro, which is being built with the private-public-partnership model, is a financial disaster in the making. "With the kind of investments required for a project like the metro, no private player should ideally come forward to construct it. The world over, metros are run by governments since it is a public service. Private players cannot expect a return on investment, as perhaps they are in the case of Mumbai," he said.
He also rubbished the bureaucracy's pet argument that states do not have the necessary funds, and cannot expect huge investments from the Centre. "Aid is needed only after there is clarity on the outlay. If bureaucrats cannot figure it out, it's their fault," he said.
He said that the idea of Mumbai not having enough resources is a fallacy. "The MMRDA is lucky to be sitting on large parcels of land. How can it say there is shortage of funds?" he questioned.
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